Friday, October 28, 2016

When I was taking photographs yesterday, the first line from the song "My Girl" kept running though my head.... "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day".... This quilt could certainly brighten up any cloudy day!

The quilt top is made from all scraps. I quilted it with bright pink Auriful thread in color 4020. I debated between this quilting design and one big spiral over the whole quilt. I enjoyed the process of quilting this design very much. Well, after the first few lines were done! It's always nerve wracking to get started.

The backing is two-toned pink.

This cotton couture fabric from Michael Miller produces a lovely quilted texture. I love how it looks embossed. It works great for backings because it's soft, smooth and just a tiny bit shiny. Did I mention the texture???

I used a citron green, almost lemon colored binding. The contrasting pop of color on the outside of the quilt is a nice foil to all of the pink.

Monday, October 24, 2016

Today I thought it would be fun to share a snowflake block tutorial with you! Winter will be here in just a few short weeks, no doubt. It's better to embrace it rather than being cranky for the next 6 months....at least that's the goal! Making quilted items to cozy up the house definitely helps. :)

To make one snowflake quilt block, you will need:

-3" x WOF (width of fabric) of white or cream fabric
-1/8 yard x WOF of navy or blue fabric
-additional navy or blue fabric for any borders or sashing you would like to add. (I'll leave that part up to you!)

Friday, October 21, 2016

This week I finished knitting a hat for my daughter. She was so excited for it. She asked me several days in a row if I had finished her hat yet. :) I love that it's a quick knit, and you only have to make one....unlike socks and hand warmers!

The weather was beautiful yesterday, and my kids were off school, so I grabbed my "real" camera and had fun taking photos of her in her brand new hat. I LOVE this style on her....it suits her so well. Charcoal gray and aqua are her current favorite colors.

The pattern is the tweedy cap, which is available for purchase here. I think I've made this pattern at least 5 times now. It's a good one!

Winter is coming, like it or not, so I'm glad to have this finished!

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for this week. Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!

Thursday, October 20, 2016

I'm so happy to be done with this quilt top...finally! It was started in April of 2015 at a Denyse Schmidt workshop, and I don't think I had touched it since....except to steal scraps from the bag for other projects. (ha!) I was pleased to discover that I still like the quilt after all this time. The top measures 60" x 75". Rather than rush through and finish, I think I'm going to let this one marinate for awhile. I need to decide on a backing and who knows, I may even send this one out to get quilted. I do love the 3 little blocks mixed in with the rest. You know me, I've gotta put a scrappy twist on the quilt somehow! :)

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

You would think I would have run out of WIPs by now, but the battle between me and my WIP list continues. Hahaha!

This newly finished quilt top is made from all scraps, of course, in warm colors. I tend to gravitate toward cool colors more often, so this palette was a nice change of pace. It's nice and bright and cheery! I didn't notice it until I was taking photos, but there is an upper case "E" and a lower case "e" in this quilt. Do you see them? That was a total accident, but I kind of like it!

The quilt top is constructed very much like my scrap vortex quilts. (Tutorials from the QAL can be found on my quilt along page, at the very bottom.)

The quilt top measures about 45"x 59" or so. Once it is finished, I plan to donate it to A Mother's Hope program. (You can read more about that here.)

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These cool blocks were pieced around the same time as the ones above, but I decided to separate them from the warm blocks. These will probably up as their own quilt. I'm mulling over a few ideas, but I'm excited about the possibilities!

Friday, October 14, 2016

Welcome to finish it up Friday! Did you know that I started this link up party exactly 5 years ago today?!?!?! That's. so. crazy!!!! I'm so thankful for it, or who knows how many WIPs I'd have today. Accountability is a great thing! Thank you for sticking with me for that long!

I have another quilt finish today! This pattern is A Quilter's Palette, by the lovely Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. This was a fun quilt to make! I loved digging in the scrap bins and building the blocks one at a time. My friend Brianne and I swapped scraps for some of the blocks, which was very helpful!

I don't often use blue or purple in my quilts, but somehow I still have scraps of those colors. I like what they add to this quilt! It feels good to branch out once in awhile.

I did a simple stipple all over in Auriful 2600, which has to be the most perfect thread color ever. I love it because it blends in with everything and it works so well in my Juki.

These blocks are great for fussy cuts. The butterfly block is one of my favorite parts of the whole quilt.

For the backing I used a fabric I had set aside for making a washi dress. I couldn't see myself wearing this color, and I had JUST enough (within inches) to back the quilt. I figured it was meant to be! The binding is the same fabric that I used on my last quilt finish. (The print is Citrus by Another Point of View for Windham fabrics.)

The quilt measures about 48" x 62". This is scrap project #184! This finish brings my WIP list down to 9! I'm quite excited about that!

How about a giveaway today? If you leave a comment in this post or if you link up today (or both!), your name will be thrown into a virtual hat. I will pick 5 winners that will receive 5 of my PDF patterns of your choice. I'll pick winners on Monday! I know I say it all the time, but I really mean it. Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Between now and the end of the year, I'm going to be making quilts for Margaret's Hope Chest and I'd like to invite you to join me! MHC is currently working with a program called A Mother's Hope and they need quilts! The program offers hope and help to mothers who are going through post-partum depression. I know that my transition into motherhood was quite tumultuous, so it's great to know that there is a program out there that is helping young mothers. I think it's a wonderful opportunity to help someone who is going through a tough time with a gift of a quilt!

In a nutshell, here are the specifics:
1. MHC is looking for quilts that measure about 40" x 60". (That's a pretty reasonable size for a quick finish!)
2. They suggest that you make a quilt that you would like to receive yourself....so if you like pink and orange, make a pink an orange quilt. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it?
3. Please include a personal note to the mother who will receive the quilt. It can be about why you chose the color or pattern of the quilt, or a simple note of encouragement. It's up to you!
4. Mail your completed quilts to: Margaret's Hope Chest 630 Griswold SEGrand Rapids, MI 49507
This is an on-going program, and the need is great. I'd love it if you would like to help.

I'm continuing to work down the WIP list....and it feels great! Each time I think I will start a new project, I find renewed vigor to finish up an existing one. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm going to ride this wave as long as I can!

I finished up my quilter's palette top this week. (Pattern is available for purchase here.) I kept it simple and finished it with plain cornerstones rather than pinwheels as the pattern shows. I really like the simplicity of this one! It's hard to go wrong with a scrappy quilt. :)

Friday, October 07, 2016

I spent a lot of time on my sewing machine this week and it was good! My trendy triangles quilt is now complete!

This one has been in progress for awhile, as I mentioned in my last post. A few summers ago, my friend Holly gave me the triangle scraps, which were leftovers from a quilt that she was making from cotton + steel's very first fabric collection. I love the combination of the bright triangles with a variety of low volume prints.

For the quilting, I free motion quilted a simple loopy pattern all over. I machine bound it for a quick and durable finish. I love this print for binding! In fact, I made bias binding for two quilts out this same fabric yesterday. (The print is Citrus, by another point of view for Windham fabrics.)

This quilt has such a beautiful texture already...and it hasn't even been washed yet!

The pattern is based on Cheryl's Nap Like an Egyptian quilt, which is found in Sunday Morning Quilts. It finishes at about 52" x 66". It's scrap project # 183.

With this finish, my WIP list is now down to 10! I'm so excited I could (almost) do cartwheels!

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Yesterday I pulled out an old WIP. According to Instagram, the last time that I worked on this project was 75 weeks ago. That's a bit of time!

It didn't take me long-just a few hours of concentrated effort-to make the remaining 52 blocks that I needed. Now, I'm wondering why I waited so long. Isn't that always the way?

Trimming, on the other hand, took a little bit of time. This 60 degree ruler (by creative grids) made it much easier. This ruler is worth every penny that I spent on it! (I trimmed the blocks to 7 3/4" each.)

It turns out that I needed another row, to make the quilt proportionate, so I made another 11 blocks today....added filler triangles, and sewed it up. I'm very pleased with this completed quilt top!

The pattern is based on Cheryl's Nap Like an Egyptian quilt, which is found in Sunday Morning Quilts. The quilt top measures approximately 52" x 66".

It feels SO great to be making some serious progress on my WIP list. I hope the trend continues!

Monday, October 03, 2016

My crazy rails quilt has been sitting on my design wall, waiting patiently for some time and attention. WIPs are good like that. (ha!) This is what the quilt looked like a couple of weeks ago....

This past weekend I attended an in-town retreat, so I had an entire day to sew with friends. It was lovely! This was a great project to work on because it required very little concentration. Between the sew day and a few more hours at home, the project grew quite a bit!

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You can see the specifics of the quilt here, including a photo of the inspiration quilt and the measurements of the blocks. (The blocks at the top of my design wall are ones that my daughter is slowly working on. I love how they coordinate with my quilt!)

Currently, I have 306/480 blocks complete. If I stick with my original plan, I only have 174 to go. That's not too bad!

A friend sent me a photo of this quilt a few weeks ago. Isn't that insane? I thought I was crazy. Turns out, maybe I'm not so crazy after all. :)